Oregon offers $30,000 to asylum-seekers and other non-US citizens to buy houses – Washington Examiner
Oregon is offering a $30,000 grant to assist asylum-seekers, refugees, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, and other non-U.S. citizens in purchasing homes for the first time. This initiative is part of the Camino A Casa program by the Hacienda Community Development Corporation (HCDC), which works with clients to enhance their mortgage readiness through financial coaching and housing counseling. The grant is funded by a $692,775 allocation from the state’s Economic Equity Investment Program (EEIP), which aims to promote economic stability and equity. In light of rising housing challenges, including a 22% increase in homelessness in the state, this program aims to mitigate difficulties for disadvantaged individuals. Oregon has seen significant struggles in affordable housing availability, prompting emergency measures from Governor Tina Kotek in 2022 to address the ongoing crisis.
Oregon offers $30,000 to asylum-seekers and other non-US citizens to buy houses
Asylum-seekers, refugees, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, and any other non-U.S. citizens living in Oregon are eligible to receive a $30,000 grant to assist them if they are first-time home buyers.
This grant, which is offered by the Hacienda Community Development Corporation through its Camino A Casa program, is only available to “people who are not American citizens.”
“Clients work closely with financial coaches and HUD-certified housing counselors throughout the entirety of the homebuying process,” the advertisement for the grant stated. “In addition to mortgage readiness and financial fitness workshops, we provide various opportunities for down-payment assistance.”
The HCDC has received $692,775 from Business Oregon’s Economic Equity Investment Program, which was formed by the Oregon legislature in 2022. It is designed “to build economic stability, self-sufficiency, wealth building, and economic equity among disadvantaged individuals, families, businesses, and communities in the state.”
The EEIP awarded $15 million in grants to 36 organizations in 2023. In 2024, it received an additional $8 million, which is expected to last through June 30, 2025.
Meanwhile, Oregonians are struggling to find affordable housing. The state saw a 22% jump in people experiencing homelessness from 2020 to 2022, becoming the state with the second-highest homeless population.
In 2022, Gov. Tina Kotek (D-OR) issued three states of emergency relating to the housing shortage in the state, one of which ordered 36,000 homes to be built a year.
Several Republican lawmakers have called for the program to be discriminatory and to have it shut down.
“American citizens in Oregon are struggling to find and buy a home,” state Rep. Ed Diehl told the Daily Caller. We have a severe housing shortage in this state. I am appalled that the hard-earned, limited tax dollars of Oregonians are being used to prioritize homeownership for certain non-US citizens. Oregon can’t end this state-sponsored discrimination soon enough.”
Since Biden took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded 8.1 million people have crossed over the border. A vast majority of these migrants have been bused and flown to sanctuary cities like New York, Chicago, and Portland.
So far Oregon has spent $29 million to house and feed asylum-seekers.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Hacienda Community Development Corporation.
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